I bought and painted a Class 156 DMU from Shapeways which was fine except that it had gaping holes for windows. At first that didn't bother me but when I painted 80 gsm paper grey and glued it inside the coach bodies they looked much better. Then I also painted onto the windows modellers' Realistic Water to try to get a glazing effect. Didn't look too bad. The difficult part was the window vents. I tried painting the horizontal line on the Realistic Water with mixed results (even with masking tape - the left hand coach in the photo) and also tried painting a white line on grey-painted paper and gluing it onto the windows (the right hand coach in the photo). Neither result was perfect but I prefer it to having gaping holes for windows. I just rested the coach bodies on the underframes which is they look to be sitting a bit high in the photos. The lack of underfloor engine detail is noticeable so I might have a go at that next. Has anyone tried it?

The Class 158 DMU, which I don't have yet, looks to have similar gaping window holes but those windows won't require the horizontal line as the units are air conditioned.

Anyone know where we can obtain the train operating companies' logos in T scale (Abellio Greater Anglia in this case)?

This is one of the issues that I have been having to contend with in looking at producing new 3D printed shells....

Most of the modern stock of DMUs and carriages are built with doors and windows flush with the body sides to achieve good airflow around the body. Actually modelling such bodies in 1:450 with doors and windows is not feasible as there's either no recess, etc to model or the thin recess around the door is impossible to recreate. Older stock do have the windows recessed, but when modelled, the windows recess has to be exaggerated so they indent much more than actual scale. Where hollow shells are modelled, the wall thickness means that when a transparent film is placed behind the shell wall, the recess is also out of scale.

The ideal compromise is as used on the InterCity125 set from TGauge.com.....the shell is manufactured in clear plastic and the livery complete with doors & windows is printed onto the outside of the shell. The doors & windows are flush and the windows see-through!

The loco and carriage shells I currently have available in the Talking T Gauge shop are 3D printed in thick-walled or solid form with window, etc recesses. This is to allow the windows to be filled with paint to make them visible. The DMU shells I will be adding to the shop very soon use a different method. The doors and windows are not modelled and I will be making generic artwork for making custom decals that have the doors and windows on. The advantage of this is that users will be able to create their favourite trains for personal use without anyone having to go through negotiations with operating companies to get permission to sell products with their logos on.

Until recently, stick-on overlays featuring some operator liveries were available from Electra....but they have discontinued the range. In terms of where operator liveries/logos can be obtained in 1:450th scale, I'm not sure of anywhere else at present.

Just finished a 3D printed Class 158 DMU in approximate neo-GWR livery. The windows I made by gluing with PVA glue a dark grey strip of paper along both insides and infront of each carriage. Then, I filled each window with more PVA which dries clear. The windows are still not flush with the body sides but I think they would be if I continued building up layers of PVA. Needed some care inserting the motorised chassis as it is a snug fit even without the paper insert windows. The results are below.

In the past, I made some Pennsylvania RR coaches with clear decal film as windows. I cut a strip slightly larger than the window height, then applied to the body, I added some MicroSet (not Micro Sol) and when dried I sprayed with Glosscote. I thought it looked great (rummages around for old pictures of the coaches).

jesse6669 wrote:In the past, I made some Pennsylvania RR coaches with clear decal film as windows. I cut a strip slightly larger than the window height, then applied to the body, I added some MicroSet (not Micro Sol) and when dried I sprayed with Glosscote. I thought it looked great (rummages around for old pictures of the coaches).

Interesting technique. Painting clear decal film with colour spray paints and then cut it to the size and shape might be alco a technique to have colour stripes and other simple shapes to be made.

Did you try a Humbrol ClearFix to make windows ? I made windows for 3D Shapeways printed cars in Z- scale using this product. This is a clear gel you apply using toothpick. It sticks to the sides of the window and hardens after some hour. Some examples: